Shaping Estes Nike Smoke Fins, Part 3

After the root to outside edge taper is done the leading and trailing edges are hit with a quick swipe of the black marker.

The inset picture shows the pencil lines for the next tapers.
On the root edge the lines are 5/8" from the top and bottom.
The pencil lines are 1/8" from the top and bottom of the outside edge.

I wouldn't sand the leading and trailing edges to a knife point taper. This makes the fin edges weak and prone to damage on recovery.

The blackened edges help you to gauge the thickness when sanding.
I'll only go as far down as 1/32" thick.
There is no need to sand down to the pencil lines yet. Just get the fin edges thin and even.

Now connect the taper from the pencil line to the leading edge.
You want to remove the balsa between the pencil line and already thinned top.

In the picture I'm using my thumb postion to help direct the sanding block down the fin in a straight line.

Here's the finished shaped fin.
On the left the black ink is still on the edges.
The inset picture shows the ink sanded off. Because you sealed the fin edges with medium CA glue the thin ink coat is easily removed with a few light passes of the sanding block.